Container of flexible material

ABSTRACT

A container comprising an envelope of flexible material with at least one closure attached thereto. The flexible material is substantially tubular and is constricted in the way of a bag at least at one end by gathering the material around an associated insert closure. The insert closure is made of material having natural rigidity. The size of said closure in cross-section at least at one closure end is considerably smaller than the inner periphery of the non-constricted open envelope end, and a central area between the closure ends is slightly smaller than the firstmentioned closure end. At the other envelope end there may be a constriction wherein a similar insert closure is disposed or said envelope end may be directly constricted or partly constricted and the remaining opening closed with flexible material.

United States Patent 1191 de Winter Dec. 3, 1974 [54] CONTAINER 0F FLEXIBLE MATERIAL 1,009,624 3/1952 France 150 11 2 [75] Inventor: Jan Gerrit de Winter, Enschede, 384 l Great Bmam Netherlands Primary Examiner-Donald F. Norton [731 Asslgnee' Nicolon Enschede Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Strauch, Nolan, Neale, Nies 1 Netherlands & Kurz [22] Filed: June 27, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 266,680

[57] ABSTRACT Foreign Application Priority Data A container comprising an envelope of flexible mate- June 28, 1971 Netherlands 7108899 rial with at least one closure attached thereto. The Y flexible material is substantially tubular and is con- [52] U.S. Cl. "9 150/8, 150/3 stricted in the way of a bag at least at one end by gath- [Sl] Int. Cl. B65d 33/16 ering the material around an associated insert closure. [58] Field of Search 150/ 1, 3, .5, 8, 9 The insert closure is made of material having natural rigidity. The size of said closure in cross-section at [56] References Cited least at one closure end is considerably smaller than UNITED STATES PATENTS the inner periphery of the non-constricted open envelope end, and a central area between the closure ends i is slightly smaller than the first-mentioned closure end. 1,588,847 6/1926 McGee 150 3 t the other envelope end there may be a constriction 1,798,094 3/1931 M |v 150 3 wherein a similar insert closure is disposed or said enl,890,726 12/1932 Farren 150/1 UX velope end may be directly constricted or partly con- 2,6l2,924 /1952 Cunningham... l50/1 stricted and the remaining opening closed with flexible 3,028,897 4/1962 Gooding 150 1 material, 3,589,506 6/l97l Hitchin 150/1 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures 140,439 l/l935 Austria ISO/8 PATENTELEEC 31974 SHEEI 2 OF 2 FIB.3

CONTAINER OF FLEXTBLE MATERIAL This invention relates to a container substantially comprising an envelope of flexible material with closures mounted thereon.

Besides the use of rigid containers there is an increasing use nowadays of containers of flexible material for packaging, transport and storage of bulk mateials such as powder, granular and also liquid material.

The strong flexible container wall material used for these purposes is provided with closures which may comprise a sewing or sealing seam or may be formed in that the flexible container wall material has been glued up along specific closing seams. It is also possible, in particular when no liquids are concerned, to form packs by wrapping up a specific quantity of bulk material together with theflexible material, while tying up the resultant bundle to a packet by wrapping with an appropriate material.

Such containers are known in cylindrical, square or even in cushion model form.

The filling is performed often through an opening left in a glued, sealed or sewn closing seam, and wherefrom may project a filler trunk. After filling said trunk has to be closed, which may be effected by for instance tying up with an appropriate binding material such as rope or cord.

For shipping such containers, for instance by means of a hoist, a fork lift truck or such tools, the container wall material should be provided with loops, hooks or eyes or the container should be placed in a frame or on a pallet. Sometimes there are also formed on the flexible container wall material projecting flaps with holes enabling engagement of the container for its handling.

The closure of the hitherto known flexible containers after filling is time-consuming, elaborate and often cannot be performed with sufficient reliability. Furthermore it is cumbersome to obtain a good hold on such containers, which impedes the transport and the storage. Containers which show said drawbacks to a lesser extent on the other hand, have a complicated construction and are as a result expensive.

It is an object of the invention to eliminate the above and such-like drawbacks prevailing for the hitherto known containers of the type in question.

To this effect, it is proposed for a container of the above type according to the invention that the flexible material is substantially tubular and in the manner of a bag is constructed and held by grasping around an appurtenant insert closure of material having a natural rigidity, of which closure the size in cross-section is on at least one closure end at least considerably smaller than the inner periphery of the non-constructed, open covering end, and of which the size in a central area between the two closure ends is at any rate slightly smaller than in the former closure end.

The insert closure according to the invention has preferably a substantially conically flaring configuration from its central area to at least one closure end over at least part of the distance to the respective end. A suitable material may be any vegetable, mineral or synthetic material having a specificnatural rigidity such as wood, plastic, metal, etc.

The flexible container wall material is now constricted in any suitable way, for instance manually, by wrinkling around the insert closure central area with narrowed size relative to a wider end inserted in the constriction by means of rope, textile ribbon, metal band and like material, so that the container wall material wrinkled through constriction is firmly retained in position. Mainly when use is made of an insert closure having a diabolo-or hourglass-shaped configuration, forces which are exerted on the insert closure for loosening same from the constriction will result in that the constricted container wall material will come to lie tightly still against the outer circumferential side face of the insert closure flaring from the narrowest central side area, resulting in that the insert closure comes to be tightly wedged in the constricted flexible container wall material. The container wall material constricted by wrinkling is thereby also reinforced adjacent the constriction by the multiplication of the material as a result of the wrinkling, so that a closure is obtained that is highly resistant to external forces.

According to a further feature of the invention the flexible container wall material may be constricted or closed on the other end of the container by application of a constrictor or tie and the thus constricted envelope end may be bulged into the interior of the container before the filling has been put in the container. This may be done by turning the still open container inside out.

By applying the constrictor at some distance from the relevant container end, it is possible to slightly fan out the envelope end reaching beyond the constriction after the turning inside out of the still empty container. The filler material for the container then ensures, through pressing by gravity on the fanned out flexible container material at the covering end, an adequate securing of the constriction material to the inwardly bulged container end.

In a container having an insert closure according to the invention for closing the one envelope end after filling the container, it is also possible for closing the other envelope end, prior to filling the container, to have adjacent the other envelope end, constriction of the flexible container material with a second insert closure of the said type bulged into the interior of the container by turning the envelope inside out through its original outer end.

When filling with bulk material or with liquid material there will be a tendency for the insert closure to firmly wedge in the above described manner into the opening in the container wall material formed inside the constriction.

In case the material to be accommodated by the con tainer has a tendency toward bridging the invented closure is particularly favorable, because owing to the loosening and the release of the constriction at the opened container end, the entire internal transverse section of the container will become available for a rapid, undisturbed filling or emptying.

important advantages of the inverted container construction with closures according to the invention are:

the forces exerted on the filled and stored or hoisted container are evenly distributed over the full cir- -"cumference in a manner which could not be attained to such an extent in the hitherto known containers, as a result of which a considerable safety margin is attained for the strength of the flexible container wall material applied, so that if desired,

' a saving of thickness of the material can be attained; when one starts from already tubular flexible container wall material, the container can be closed without application of any technique used in the clothing industry, such as sealing, sewing or glueing;

the choice of the container capacity with a specific tubular transverse section can be easily made by employing longer or shorter pieces of the tubular container wall material;

through a wide choice of the average size for the insert closure a compromise can be reached between container wall material that produces less wrinkling during constriction and a still satisfactory closure on the periphery of the narrowed insert closure centre;

during filling and emptying the full, widest internal transverse section of the employed tubular container wall body is available, if desired, which may considerably accelerate and facilitate the filling and emptying, in particular when bridging sensitive powder and granular materials are concerned;

the closure can be effectd rapidly, reliably and in a cheap manner with application of the insert closure;

the design can be kept so inexpensive, that for many uses it is economically justified to dispose of the container without any objection once it has been used;

the insert closures in particular when their sizes widen on either side gradually from the area with the narrowest transverse section size, are particularly suitable for application thereon of all kinds of auxiliary devices; hooks, eyes, passages, provided for instance with a cock, a valve,.clamping rings etc;

the insert closures may also be formed of a plurality of portions to be combined;

also usable is a liquid-tight foil bag or tube attached to such an insert closure, which bag or tube is accommodated during the insertion in the hollow space formed by the flexible container wall mate- I rial and comes to abut during the filling with the liquid on the inside against said flexible container wall material so that an inexpensive efficient and reliable liquid container is obtained;

when on either end of the tubular envelope an insert closure is applied, a member connecting said closures may be attached to each of said closures, thus attaining that during the hoisting of the container on the one insert closure the other provides a contribution for transmitting hoisting forces onto the flexible container wall material; thus it can be avoided that the lower closure is lost during removing of the constriction and/or falls into the material poured out. The invention will now be explained schematically with reference to the drawings, showing an exemplary embodiment with variants according to the invention.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross-section of a container according to the invention with an insert closure sealingly disposed on either side;

FIG. 2 is a view side-of a diabolo-shaped insert closure provided with a lifting eye anchored thereon;

FIGS. 3 6 show in cross-section various modified embodiments for bottom closures without application of an insert closure for the invented container of flexible material.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 a container generally indicated by reference numeral 1 substantially comprises a tubular body 2 of a strong, flexible material, and two insert closures 3 and 4 having a diabolo-shaped configuration, while the material of the tubular body 2, by means of binder material, e.g. nylon cord, is pressed at its two open ends against the centrally constricted peripheral faces of the insert closures 3 and 4 at 5 or 6, while constricting said flexible wall material, and is tied up by wrapping.

As flexible container wall material of the tubular body a strong polyethylene fabric, provided with a suitable coating, is employed in the embodiment shown.

The two diabolo-shaped insert closures 3 and 4 are made of wood. Each closure has two frustoconical segments 3a and 3b or 4a and 4b which slope inwardly from opposite ends of the closure to a juncture 30 or 40 intermediate these ends, giving the closures their diaboloor hourglass-shaped appearance. The lowermost insert closure 3 shown in FIG. 1 is first inserted as inserted, for insert closure 4, in the constricted container wall material, whereafter the tubular body 2 is turned inside out, enabling insert closure 3 to occupy the position shown at the bottom of FIG. 1 with the binder material 5 in the interior of the container space.

According to a special embodiment the insert closure may be slightly resilient at least at its outer periphery through which a still better closure is obtained, particularly in applications involving liquids or very fine granular or powdery bulk material in the container.

In the left half of FIG. 1 is shown as a variant by reference numeral 7 a thin bag or liner of plastic foil material by means of a broken line, which bag has its opening edge adjoining to and around the one mouth of a longitudinal passage extending between the end faces of the insert closure 4. The liner is sealingly attached to the lowermost face of said insert closure, for instance by glueing. In the longitudinal passage having the reference numeral 8 a valve is schematically drawn at 9. Filling and emptying of the plastic bag 7 is possible through passage 8 with valve 9. Upon filling the liner comes to abut internally against the tubular body of flexible material and at the bottom against the face of the lower insert closure 3 turned towards the interior of container 1, said face being the topmost in FIG. 1.

Thus use can be made of the insert closure for filling or emptying the container without loosening the constriction for that purpose.

FIG. 2 shows at a considerably enlarged scale an insert closure 10 having also a substantially diabolo or hour-glasslike configuration, but in this case not of symmetrical shape as is the insert closure 3 of FIG. 1. The upper or outer frustoconical segment 10a of the closure member is shorter than the lower or inner frustoconical segment 10b, and the base of the upper segment is narrower than that of the lower one. As in closure members 3 and 4, however, the two frustoconical segments 10a and 10b of closure member 10 slope gradually from opposite ends of the closure member to a narrower juncture 10c intermediate these ends. A lifting eye 11 projects on the top side, which eye is attached at the end of a rod 12, which extends in longitudinal direction in the figure from the top to the bottom through the insert closure and is secured by means of nuts 13 and 14.

Pertinent tests proved that a container of the type as shown in FIG. 1 made of a 1.78 m long tube section of a polyethylene fabric having a tensile strength in warp direction of 10 kg/cm and with a circumference of 2.85 m provided with a coating is very suitable for accommodation, transport and storage of a quantity of 500 kg powdered material having a specific weight of l. During these tests it furthermore appeared that also considerably heavier weights can be accommodated in containers according to the invention in an effective, cost saving and advantageous way.

Although in FIGS. 1 and 2 are shown insert closures which conically widen from the insert closure area towards the two ends, it is also possible to successfully apply an insert closure which only widens towards the end extending into the container, both at the bottom container end where the closure member is oriented with the wide end outside so that it will be correctly positioned when the container is turned inside out and at the upper of lifting end of the container.

As flexible container material may be considered: olefin fabrics, whether or not provided with a coating and other fabrics made from natural or synthetic materials, whether or not coated with natural rubber, PVC, synthetic rubber or such materials, as well as reinforced or non-reinforced paper laminates, foils and like materials.

As suitable constriction materials are considered binder means such as cable, rope, cord or the like.

However, it is also possible to use instead a clamp ring. The risk of damage to the container wall material is comparatively slight because of the material doubling occurring as a result of the constriction and the resultant wrinkling at the place of contact of such a clamp ring.

It is also possible, for keeping the constricted container wall material grasped, to advantageously apply a sling which is self-gripping during hoisting and suitable for displacing the container thereon.

In FIGS. 3 6 the envelope or tubular container body wherein in all said figures only the bottom end is shown is also indicated by reference numeral 2.

As shown in FIG. 3 envelope 2, at the bottom, is constricted or closed by means of a constrictor (or tie or retainer) of rope or the like binder material. Said constrictor 15 is tighetened around the originally outer side of the envelope end, after which the envelope 2 is turned inside out. By the reference numeral 2' the end of the flexible wall material of the container is indicated in a condition which is fan shaped relative to the constriction 15. As a result said constrictor 15, upon filling of the container, is firmly maintained in place.

As shown in FIG. 4 a he'm is formed by means of the stitching seam 16 to form an internal space loop at which reference numeral 17 is placed in said figure. The folding back to hem of the pertinent envelope end was originally effected in outer direction, and after application of stitching seam 16 the envelope was turned inside out. By 18 is shown in this figure 4 a rigid ring which is accommodated in the hem. By 19 is shown a piece of flexible material covering the opening 20 inside the ring 18 with a broad overlapping edge 19'. Flap 19 was of the same quality and type of material employed for the envelope 2. Through the pressure of the filling material 21 in the container on the overlapping edge 19 said covering piece 19 of flexible material is well maintained over the opening 20.

In still another embodiment of the invention, a circular member is provided in a circular hem of the flexible container material at a relatively large distance from one envelope end to partly constrict the container wall. The circular member is considerably narrower than the original envelope, and the flexible container material, extending from the hem to the respective envelope end, extends in the form of a trunk through the opening formed within the constriction. The end of the envelope is closed by constriction of said turnk. Here too, the hem is preferably formed on the originally outer side of the envelope after which the envelope is turned inside out. The formed trunk can, at least partly, be pressed inwardly prior to, during, or after filling and can optionally be retrieved for emptying the container.

A container closure as just described is shown in FIG. 5. A stitched seam disposed at 26 forms a hem with hem space or loop 27 at a considerable distance from the pertinent envelope end. By 28 is shown a circular piece of binding such as a piece of rope or cord material going through the hem space 27. With the binding material the original size is formed of the envelope 2 adjacent the hem is so narrowed that an opening 30 of considerably smaller size.

By 29 is shown a trunk formed by the envelope end portion beyond the hem seal 26, which trunk extends through the opening 30 to beyond the container and is tightly constricted or closed with a constrictor or tie 31 adjacent the outer envelope end.

For obviating the inconvenience of making a hem, it is also possible to form a trunk as shown in FIG. 5 with two rigid rings of different diameters at the envelope end provided with the insert closure. In that case the constriction is such that the flexible container material extends inwardly into the interior of the container at a relatively large distance from one envelope end through an annular means which is narrow with respect to the original envelope size, and a relatively wider annular member is placed mainly concentrically with the above annular means in the thus inwardly bulged flexible container material, while fanning out the' flexible container material adjoining said annular member. The flexible container material forms a trunk towards the respective envelope end, the trunk extending outwardly from the interior of the container through the above annular means and being constricted or closed adjacent said envelope end.

If desired it is also possible to employ for the first annular means a non-rigid ring. It is not strictly necessary either in that case to form a trunk: by applying the rings slightly closer to the relevant envelope end, the opening formed inside the narrowest annular means can be covered in a manner similar to that described in the above for the constriction with a hem by means of a flexible piece of material placed inside the container over the two annular means.

FIG. 6 shows the embodiment just described; i.e., one without a hem formed by a stitching seam. Here are employed two rings 37 and 38 of different diameter the lower envelope end is first inserted through the opening 40 of the narrowest ring 37 and pushed up for some distance on the relevant envelope end. After this the envelope is turned inside out so that the envelope end inserted through the opening 40 extends inwardly into the formed container. In this end is inserted the wider ring 38 with the fanning out at 2" of the flexible material bounding the ring 37, after which finally the envelope end is extracted as a trunk 39 through the opening 40, which trunk is constricted by means of constrictor or tie 41, after which as shown in FIG. 6, the trunk is again pushed partly through the opening 40 into the interior of the container.

It will be clear that the invention is not at all limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings but that all kinds of variants with respect thereto are possible within the scope of the invention.

I claim:

I. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said retainer means engaging only said tubular member and said enclosure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member and being free of attachment to said tubular member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to Separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the retainer means is a flexible tie.

3. The container of claim 1, together with a lifting member secured to the closure member to facilitate the handling of,the tubular member.

4. The container of claim 1, where there is a passage extending longitudinally through said closure member via which the tubular member can be filled and valve means in said passage for isolating the interior of the tubular member from the surrounding environment.

5. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be gathered; a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible mate rial with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; and means for closing the opposite end of the tubular bag member, said opposite end having an opening therein and said end being inturned and extending into the tubular member and the means for closing said end comprising an elongated closure member as aforesaid disposed in said opening and a retainer means within the interior of the tubular member surrounding said opposite end of said member and securing said end to said closure member at the juncture between the frustoconical segments of the member.

6. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member'for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be so gathered that one end of said closure member will be within said tubular member; a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; and an impervious liner within said tubular member, said liner being sealed to that end of the closure member within the tubular member so that liquid contained within the tubular member cannot escape from the interior of said member through said one end thereof.

7. A'container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible mate rial can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the reainer means; the opposite end of the tubular member being inturned and thereby extending into said member and said container further including a retainer secured around and gathering said opposite end of said tubular member to close said end of tubular member.

8. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member'around which the flexible material can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; the opposite end of said tubular member being inturned and thereby extending into said member, said inturned end being fixed to the interior of the tubular member to form an annular loop around a central opening, and means for closing said central opening comprising a member disposed within the tubular member and overlying said central opening and a rigid annular support member therefor, said rigid annular member being disposed in the annular loop formed in the tubular member.

9. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible. material can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means towards a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one 'end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; said tubular memberbeing, at the opposite end thereof, twice doubled and fixed to the interior of the tubular member to form first and second concentric annular loops within said member with the first of said loops defining a central opening into the interior of the tubular member; said opposite end of the tubular member extending to the exterior of said member through the central opening therein; and the combination also including a retainer means disposed-in the first of the annular loops to constrict the size of the central opening and a second retainer means secured around and gathering said opposite end of said tubular member to isolate the interior of said tubular member from the surrounding environment at said opposite end thereof.

10. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; said tubular member being, at the opposite end thereof, twice doubled to form first and second concentric loops within said member with the first of said loops defining a central opening into the interior of the tubular member; said opposite end of the tubular member extending to the exterior of the tubular member through said central opening; and the combination further including first and second annular members disposed in said first and second loops, respectively, and a retainer means secured around and gathering said opposite end of said tubular member to isolate the interior ofsaid member from the surrounding environment at said opposite end of said tubular member.

22mg? HE STATES PATENT 1 CTIFICATE CQRRECTION- Patent No. 3,851,688 Dated December 3, 4974 Inventor(s) Jan Gerrit de Winter It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

I Column 3, line 24, change "effectd" to --effected-. 1

Column 3, line after "lower" add- ---insert. 4 Column 4, line 1, change "view side" to -side view--.

Column 4, line 26, after "inserted" add a -comma--. Column 4, line 27, after "inserted" delete the ---comma-'-. Column 4, line 27, change "inserted" to -shown--.

Column 4, line 58, change "hour-glasslike" to ---hourglasslike-. Column 5, line 18, after "closure add --central-. I Column 5, line 51, change "tighetened" to --tightenedg 7 Column 5, after line 57, add:

--According to a further feature of the invention it is also possible that in a hem or loop of the flexible container Q material running at a relatively small distance on the one envelope end, a circular member is provided which is considerably narrowed with respect to the original envelope size and partly constricts said envelope end, and that a considerably larger piece of flexible material similar to the container material is sealing- L'Ly placed over the opening formed within the constri'ction in the] UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 5 9 CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Paten i -3.851.688 W l December 3. 1974' i fi bi-( Jan Gerrit 'de Winter I It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

interior of the container. The circular member may consist of a piece of rope, cord or the like binder which is pulled through the hem and tightened with its projecting end, after which the ends are tied together and cut past the knot. Instead of such" binder a relatively rigid ring may also be inserted in the hem, in which case the hem should be very wide in order to enable that ring to j be sewn in. Preferably the hem is formed on the original outer envelope side and after that the envelope is turned inside out. The pressure of the filler material for the container ensures the securing in place of the piece of material extending over the formed opening.

I For emptying such a container it is not necessary to remove the insert closure in the other envelope end, as it is i possible to cut the piece of material placed over the I opening.--.

Column 5, line 59, change "an" to -the--. Q I Column 6, line 1, after "material" add --as-'.

Column 6, line 28, after "size" delete --'is formed--.

Lgolumn 6, line 30, after *size" add -'--is formed---. 1 Y J- Page 3 90-1050 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC I CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3851,688 I Dated Decsmber 3, 1974 Jan Gerrit de Winter Inventor s) It is certified that rro'r appears in the above-identified patent and that: said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 7, line 60, after "one" add -end-.

Column 8, line 51, la fterfione" add --and- Column 8, line 62, chan ge reainer" to retainer--.

'Sig'ned snd sealed this 11th day of February 1975.

' (SEAL) Attest:

' c. MARSHALL DANN RUTH g MASON v- Commissioner of Patents Attestlng Offlcer v and Trademarks 

1. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said retainer means engaging only said tubular member and said enclosure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member and being free of attachment to said tubular member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein the retainer means is a flexible tie.
 3. The container of claim 1, together with a lifting member secured to the closure member to facilitate the handling of the tubular member.
 4. The container of claim 1, where there is a passage extending longitudinally through said closure member via which thE tubular member can be filled and valve means in said passage for isolating the interior of the tubular member from the surrounding environment.
 5. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be gathered; a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; and means for closing the opposite end of the tubular bag member, said opposite end having an opening therein and said end being inturned and extending into the tubular member and the means for closing said end comprising an elongated closure member as aforesaid disposed in said opening and a retainer means within the interior of the tubular member surrounding said opposite end of said member and securing said end to said closure member at the juncture between the frustoconical segments of the member.
 6. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be so gathered that one end of said closure member will be within said tubular member; a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; and an impervious liner within said tubular member, said liner being sealed to that end of the closure member within the tubular member so that liquid contained within the tubular member cannot escape from the interior of said member through said one end thereof.
 7. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, theReby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the reainer means; the opposite end of the tubular member being inturned and thereby extending into said member and said container further including a retainer secured around and gathering said opposite end of said tubular member to close said end of tubular member.
 8. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; the opposite end of said tubular member being inturned and thereby extending into said member, said inturned end being fixed to the interior of the tubular member to form an annular loop around a central opening, and means for closing said central opening comprising a member disposed within the tubular member and overlying said central opening and a rigid annular support member therefor, said rigid annular member being disposed in the annular loop formed in the tubular member.
 9. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular member around which the flexible material can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means towards a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; said tubular member being, at the opposite end thereof, twice doubled and fixed to the interior of the tubular member to form first and second concentric annular loops within said member with the first of said loops defining a central opening into the interior of the tubular member; said opposite end of the tubular member extending to the exterior of said member through the central opening therein; and the combination also including a retainer means disposed in the first of the annular loops to constrict the size of the central opening and a second retainer means secured around and gathering said opposite end of said tubular member to isolate the interior of said tubular member from the surrounding environment at said opposite end thereof.
 10. A container or the like, comprising the combination of a tubular member of flexible material; a removable, elongated, rigid closure member for one end of said tubular mEmber around which the flexible material can be gathered; and a retainer means with which said flexible material can be surrounded to secure said one end of said tubular member to said closure member, said closure member having two frustoconical segments sloping inwardly to a juncture intermediate the ends of the closure member whereby, with said one end of said tubular member secured to said closure member at said juncture by said retainer means, the exertion of a relative longitudinal force between said closure member and said tubular member tending to separate said members will displace said retainer means toward a larger diameter part of one of the frustoconical segments of the closure member, thereby increasing the resistance to separation of the closure member from said one end of said tubular member by wedging the flexible material with greater force between the closure member and the retainer means; said tubular member being, at the opposite end thereof, twice doubled to form first and second concentric loops within said member with the first of said loops defining a central opening into the interior of the tubular member; said opposite end of the tubular member extending to the exterior of the tubular member through said central opening; and the combination further including first and second annular members disposed in said first and second loops, respectively, and a retainer means secured around and gathering said opposite end of said tubular member to isolate the interior of said member from the surrounding environment at said opposite end of said tubular member. 